Right Here, Right Now

02.06.08

Rudy Giuliani might have been a great president. We’ll never know for sure, because the former mayor of New York never really got his candidacy going. Unfortunately for Mayor Giuliani, he listened to his advisors and stayed away from key primaries in New Hampshire and Iowa, and instead pinned his hopes on the Florida primary—a state with plenty of New Yorkers who left the cold up north for the Sunshine State. Problem is, the mayor who was once the Florida frontrunner, saw his lead erode and was unable to overcome the momentum generated by his key rivals Mitt Romney and John McCain.

Just goes to show you that when it comes to elections, out of sight is out of mind for many voters. The same can be said for magazines. Happi has been a monthly magazine throughout its 45-year history. We like to think that all of our 17,000 readers around the world eagerly look forward to each and every issue. But if you’re looking forward to something, no matter how eagerly, that means you have to wait for it. And no one, not even presidential hopefuls, can afford to wait these days.

With that in mind, in the coming months, we’ll be relaunching our website, Happi.com. The site will post articles as soon as we get them, which means more for you to read...without the wait. At the same time, Happi.com will be more entertaining than ever, with videos, blogs and the opportunity to create a community within the global household and personal products industry.

We’ll keep you posted as we get closer to relaunching the website. Until then, we hope you enjoy this edition of Happi. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.

Clarification

The article, A Rising Tide, which appeared in the January issue of Happi included a quote by Brian Sansoni, vice president, communication and membership, The Soap and Detergent Association.

Mr. Sansoni’s statement, “They’re trying to scare people about chemicals,” referred to a few activist groups’ anti-chemical publicity efforts, not state of California officials or the agency that hosted the blog.

In a resounding “NO” to US President Donald J. Trump’s decision to withdraw the country from the Paris Agreement on climate change, business and industries across the US have pledged that they will continue to work toward reducing c…

Avon’s gone…to the UK, that is. The direct sales leader is eliminating thousands of jobs, shutting down its New York City headquarters and taking off for the United Kingdom—while maintaining its current R&D facilities in Suffer…

More than 4000 deaths have been attributed to Ebola virus in West Africa, as well as one death in the US, two deaths in Spain and another in Germany. The disease has become a global threat as airports around the world begin screening for Ebola among…

The email subject line read, “Exclusive Invitation.” But after 23 years in this industry, I’ve been to enough “exclusive” events to know that these invites usually mean getting jammed into some cramped New York City loft…

They’ve been in the news for months, but Tide Pods have yet to appear on retail shelves. There’s nothing wrong with making sure you get things right, but the longer Procter & Gamble waits to introduce the novel detergent form, the h…

The New York metropolitan area was battered by Hurricane Irene in August. The storm dumped 13 inches of rain in our region, making for severe flooding in northern New Jersey. Just over the border, in New York State, my relatives were hit hard by the…

Back in the 1970s, after a tough day in the third grade (if you had Mrs. Swillinger you’d know what I mean) I would come home to the familiar scene of my mother doing laundry, ironing clothes, washing the floor—her list of chores was endl…

The recent announcement by Procter & Gamble (P&G) that it was raising prices on many of its consumer products should come as no surprise to anyone who’s been following the rise in commodity costs during the past year. Speaking at a Co…

The Q4 results are rolling in and it’s mostly good news for suppliers and marketers alike. Suppliers report strong demand for innovative solutions to complex formulation problems in the household and personal care industry, while marketers sa…

The Seventh World Conference on Detergents (see p. 94 in this issue) was a huge success—every presentation was insightful and entertaining. I’ve been attending conferences, seminars and congresses around the world for more than 20 years a…

Believe it or not, there are some winners when the economy turns south. Some of those winners are store brands. According to the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), private label products grabbed an even bigger slice of the consumer&rsquo…

If we can all agree that the recession is over, then the next point to ponder is, “How do we get growing again?” Two answers come quickly to mind: the anti-aging category and environmentally-friendly products. Both subjects are covered…

Third quarter statistics confirm what we suspected for some time now—the economy is up and growing again in the U.S. and probably around the world as well. According to the White House Council of Economic Advisors, gross domestic product expand…

Every time there’s a downturn in the economy, the focus shifts to private label. And with good reason. According to the Private Label Manfacturers Association, sales of store brands in the major U.S. retail channels surged by more than 10% in 2…